1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compositions comprising at least one fluoroolefin and a stabilizer comprising a phenol, or a mixture of at least one phenol with other stabilizers. The stabilized compositions may be useful in cooling systems as replacements for existing refrigerants with higher global warming potential.
2. Description of Related Art
New environmental regulations on refrigerants have forced the refrigeration and air-conditioning industry to look for new refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP).
Replacement refrigerants are being sought that have low GWP, no toxicity, non-flammability, reasonable cost and excellent refrigeration performance.
Fluoroolefins have been proposed as refrigerants, alone or in mixtures. However, it has been observed that fluoroolefins can exhibit degradation by themselves (e.g., high temperature) and/or produce useful products or unwanted by-products when contacted with other compounds (e.g., moisture, oxygen, and condensation reactions with other compounds) that may be present in a particular use and/or application. Such degradation may occur when fluoroolefins are utilized as refrigerants or heat transfer fluids. This degradation may occur by any number of different mechanisms. In one instance, degradation may be caused by instability of the compounds at extreme temperatures. In other instances, the degradation may be caused by oxidation in the presence of air that has inadvertently leaked into the system. Whatever the cause of such degradation, because of the instability of the fluoroolefins, it may not be practical to incorporate these fluoroolefins into refrigeration or air-conditioning systems. Therefore, to take advantage of the many other attributes of fluoroolefins, means to reduce the degradation is needed.